Ukraine fighting rages ahead of ceasefire
Ukraine fighting rages ahead of ceasefire
Ferocious fighting raged in Ukraine yesterday, threatening a ceasefire deal as Kiev and the US accused Russia of fuelling a rebel onslaught to grab territory hours before the truce began.
Kiev-loyal regional police chief Vyacheslav Abroskin said constant artillery bombardments were razing the strategic railway hub of Debaltseve, where Ukrainian forces were clinging on.
Ukraine's Azov volunteer battalion also reported fierce clashes just to the east of the vital government-held port city of Mariupol and said that the village of Shyrokyne had been "practically destroyed" by shelling.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko warned Friday that surging fighting had plunged a peace plan reached in Minsk after marathon talks with Russian leader Vladimir Putin into "big danger" before it even got off the ground.
"After Minsk the offensive operation of Russia intensified significantly," Poroshenko said, speaking in English.
The ceasefire, due to take effect from 2200 GMT yesterday, will be the first test of the commitment by Kiev and pro-Russian separatists to the freshly-inked peace plan.
But with Kiev and Washington claiming Russia was spearheading a separatist push to conquer more territory and government forces digging in, there were fears over whether the truce would be observed at all.
Poroshenko was to speak with US President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande yesterday. The UN Security Council was meanwhile expected to meet today for an emergency session, diplomats said.
The United States said the Russian military had deployed large amounts of artillery and multiple rocket launcher systems and was using them to shell Ukrainian positions.
Washington's ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt claimed on Twitter that the separatists now had more heavy weapons than some European members of NATO.
Ukrainian security spokesman Andriy Lysenko said that rebels backed up by regular Russian troops were trying to "achieve important tactical goals to extend their territory" ahead of the ceasefire.
Lysenko said that seven soldiers were killed and 23 wounded in clashes over the past 24 hours, while rebel and government officials said six civilians had died.
Obama has warned he could start arms supplies to Ukraine if the new peace deal collapses.
Moscow's foreign ministry lashed out at Kiev and its Western allies yesterday, saying that they had "begun to distort the contents of the Minsk agreements."
Merkel has warned Russia that the EU, which has already slapped Moscow with sanctions over the crisis, is not ruling out further measures if the truce fails.
The fragile deal is seen as the best hope of ending the conflict, which has killed at least 5,480 people and ratcheted East-West tensions to levels not seen since the Cold War, but scepticism remains high after the collapse of a similar previous peace plan.
Rebel leaders -- seen by the West as Kremlin puppets -- have said the new deal raises hopes of peace but warned there would be no more talking if it fails.